Microsoft has finally introduced Skype group chats to Office Online, an update that was announced back in November this year. Well, it has finally rolled out for PowerPoint and Word documents. And just as before, there’s no mention of pending availability for OneNote or Excel Online.
So if the lack of an option for collaborating over documents was the only thing making you hold onto Google Drive even though you prefer Microsoft Office Online, no need for that anymore. From now onwards, two or more users working on the same Word or PowerPoint document will be able to see a button for group chats.
The new changes bring more functionality to Office Online, which is obviously good for the company which has been focusing on its cross-platform and cloud services for almost a year in the face of dipping PC sales. In order to be able to access the chat option, you have to link your Skype account to your Microsoft one.
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You can do so by going to this page. The group chatting function is available for desktop and mobile platforms including the Windows Store application. Once you exit an Office document, you can still use Skype to carry on the conversation you were having. Chats within the browser can only take place over instant messaging for now.
You can read more about Microsoft’s new Skype group chats addition by going to this official blog post sectioned under Garage & Updates, announcing the availability of the feature. In case you’re asking, someone who doesn’t have a Skype account can still join the conversation within an Office Online document.